A WICKED AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed” (Matthew 16:1-4).

When examining what Bible scripture has to say concerning signs and wonders, we are reminded that it is crucial to “test the spirits” whether or not they are from God …

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Scripture reveals that signs and wonders will be an important component of the last days and it will be critical for born-again believers in the body of Christ to discern between the signs that God gives to us and those intended to mislead us that come from dark and demonic sources. Of course, those sources are the ones spoken of in Galatians chapter 6:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

It needs to be made clear at the start that the signs I speak of are not the signs that are occurring in the heavens and the earth to indicate that we are in the last days and that Jesus is about to appear. The signs and wonders I speak of are of a differing variety. With that said and out of the way, it needs to be acknowledged that, throughout history, God has often confirmed his word with miracles. Scripture tells us that Moses performed signs to confirm to the enslaved Israelites that God had indeed sent him to lead them from Egyptian bondage (Exodus 4:29-31). Later, God performed signs and wonders through the early disciples to confirm that God had indeed sent Jesus Christ to deliver us from our sins (Mark 16:20/Acts 2:43). Yet, it should also be noted that, almost from the beginning, the Adversary has consistently tried to confuse and deceive by providing his own signs and wonders.

When Moses and Aaron first went in to Pharoah, Aaron’s rod was transformed into a serpent before the king and his servants. Not to be outdone, Pharoah called upon his sorcerers Jannes and Jambres to perform the same miracle. The Bible records that their rods did indeed become serpents, although they were soon swallowed by Aaron’s rod (Exodus 7:10-12).

Later, as Paul and Barnabas were carrying the Gospel of Christ into other lands, at one point they were opposed by a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet called, oddly enough, BarJesus (Acts 13:6-8). Though his influence was strong, his efforts to undermine the gospel message eventually cost him his sight. Still, the point is that there has always been, and will always be, false prophets through whom the Adversary has the ability to provide signs and wonders that spawn deceit and confusion. However, they will always be exposed for what they are.

FALSE PROPHETS AND LYING SIGNS

“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

The Bible reveals that at the end of days, the Adversary will employ the miraculous in an effort to deceive the world. Jesus warned that false prophets would arise, showing signs and wonders intended to deceive, if possible, “even the elect” …

“For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. (Mark 13:22).

The Apostle John recorded that the false prophet will perform very impressive, albeit deceitful, signs, even causing fire to fall from the heavens …

“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).

“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men …” (Revelation 13:13).

The Bible also reveals that the reason why these lying signs will be so effective is because the people did not want the truth, but “had pleasure in unrighteousness,” willing even to take the mark of the beast. So then, what distinguishes a true prophet from a false one? How can someone know if the sign is from God or not?

The Bible is very specific about what a prophet is. According to the word of God, a true prophet will never speak presumptuously or entice people away from what scripture clearly reveals …

“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

In short, a true prophet of God will always call the people to repentance. Repentance is what Elijah called for, as did others including John the Baptist. Even Jesus initiated his ministry with a call to repent (Matthew 4:17). God’s true prophets have indeed supported this message with the demonstration of signs and wonders, even predictions of future events. However, these supernatural manifestations were always intended to serve as evidence that the one speaking had indeed been sent by God. Thus, a true prophet is one who calls the people to return to God and his salvation. In these New Testament times, the call to repentance would be to turn to Christ and him alone for one’s eternal salvation found only in him and not by good deeds, works and behavior (more on that later in the article).

In contrast, a false prophet is one who seduces people away from his word, and by that I mean, any part of it. The Spirit of Truth will never speak or operate in contradiction to anything written in the word of Truth. Notice, however, that God makes it clear that these false prophets will sometimes make accurate predictions of the future (Deuteronomy 13:2) and will perform signs and wonders (Mark 13:22) …

“And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them …” (Deuteronomy 13:2)

“For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect” (Mark 13:22).

The only way to detect if they are false or not is to listen to (hear) what they say and observe what they do and determine if their “hearing” and “doing” lines up with scripture. Jesus said “You will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16) and the fruit will always reflect the seed that wrought it. In other words, a true prophet will faithfully exhibit fruit that is borne of the seed of the word of God (Mark 4:14). They will not teach as God’s word anything that is plainly contradictory to the word. It needs to be made clear at this point, however, that there is a difference between studying the Bible and honestly trying to mine out the nuggets and revelations of scripture and, perhaps, being off or incorrect in your interpretation of it and blatantly teaching something that is clearly contradictory to the tenants and foundation of the Christian faith and proclaiming it to be a “thus saith the Lord” declaration. An honest born-again, saved believer misinterpreting scripture in a certain area is not the same as a “false prophet.”

It must be made clear that there is a line of distinction between a false prophet and a simple misapplication and incorrect interpretation of scripture. One can be a little off in their interpretation of something – it does not make them a “false prophet” of the sort that biblical scripture is talking and warning about. It should be a little nauseating to most that the term “false prophet” is slung around and applied to genuine Bible expositors who are attempting to understand scripture, even if not completely correct in their observations. The label of “false prophet” often gets misused and abused to slander many genuine born again Christians. To prove this point, let’s look again at the aforementioned passage of Deuteronomy 13 again …

“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: …” (Deut. 13:1-3).

When we look at the first three verses, we see that these false prophets are attempting to steer people away from who God really is and to go after other gods. In other words, directing people away from belief and adherence to the God of divinely inspired Bible scripture to a “false god.” This is the true definition of a false prophet – and they will use false or demonically inspired signs and wonders to do it. Being mistaken on an interpretation of prophecy or other aspect of scripture is not quite the same as a “false prophet.” In fact, the subject matter of Jesus’ words when stating that a “wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign” goes deep into the rabbit hole of false god worship and adherence.

First, Jesus was speaking to the Scribes and Pharisees, notorious for their strict adherence to the law and hardness of heart toward their belief of who Christ really was. He uses the term “wicked and adulterous” generation to describe them. Adulterous strongly points to a dark and occultic false god worship taking place in their circle. The false “signs and wonders” that would accompany this reality and deceive many would be enormous indeed. Evidence suggests, historical and otherwise, that the Pharisees were an occultic sect of Jews who were involved in heavy communication with dark power. In fact, Jesus called them the “seed of vipers,” connecting them with Satan himself. A very strong and evidence abundant case can be made that many of the Jewish Orthodox Rabbis of today (but not all) are descendants of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Jesus called the Pharisees serpents and a “generation (translated family) of vipers” …

“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34).

This gets even more interesting when one considers that just a few statements earlier, Jesus linked them to Satan himself by saying …

“And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?” (verse 26).

Then over in Matthew 23, Jesus again calls them “vipers,” but also calls them “serpents” by saying the following stunning words …

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:27-33).

Jesus also makes the point very succinctly by enlightening them and linking them with the certainty of Hell. There is a very strong Hell connection taking place in Jesus’ narrative. Vipers and serpents are identified with Satan himself. Further still, their bloodline can be connected to the Nephilim bloodline. As we have already discussed, the Nephilim are the offspring of the mating of fallen angels and human women mentioned back in the book of Genesis 6. This fact explains much for their seeming control of power behind the scenes that are steering the world’s destiny to a demonically fueled New World Order and the releasing of these fallen angels from Saturn and the locusts from the bottomless pit via CERN (See the article titled “RAISING HELL WITH CERN AND SATURN” in the Recommended Reading section at the end of this article). For more on this stunning Pharisaic Nephilim bloodline narrative, be sure to watch Steven Ben-Nun’s excellent expose titled “False Remnant: Pharisaical Bloodline Of The Nephilim” and “The Trail Of The Nephilim: The Serpent Race” in the sidebar of this sight further up the page.

All of that said though, even if some make blind eyes to see or deaf ears hear, even if they accurately predict a future event or call fire down from the heavens, those things in and of themselves do not offer conclusive proof that they are a prophet of God. We see this to be the case in a sobering future prophetic event yet to occur in the lives of many on judgment day when Jesus says the following horror-filled words in Matthew 7 …

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Here, we see the ultimate rejection of people being cast into condemnation even though they wrought many wonderful works … in the name of Jesus no less. Notice how that these people even cast demons out of people in Jesus’ own name. But yet, Jesus utters those shocking words to these lost and damned souls.

Interestingly enough, Jesus also encouraged and commanded the disciples to perform the very miracles, signs and wonders that many will fall back upon at the day of judgment when told those terrifying words “Depart from me” …

^“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils …” (Matthew 10:6-8).

The next instance where Jesus encourages and commands them to perform these marvelous works is seen in the book of Mark. The interesting narrative to take hold of and implant in your mind is the fact that he ties the purpose of these miraculous works, signs and wonders to the all-important element of belief on him and his gospel message of salvation that can only be obtained through him …

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following” (Matthew 16:15-20).

If this seems like a contradiction to you in light of what he said in Matthew 7, it is not. The difference between those condemned and falling back on their miraculous signs and wonders in Matthew 7 and those encouraged by Jesus in Matthew 10 and Matthew 16 who are not condemned is belief and personal salvation. In other words, those in Matthew 7 did not believe on Christ as the true way of salvation and had no personal saving faith to begin with, whereas those in Matthew 10 and 16 performing those same works, signs and wonders who are in good standing with God have put their full weight of trust in Christ for personal salvation. This is the crucial difference when discerning true signs and wonders that come from nefarious and dark demonic sources versus those that truly come from God.

Summing it up and to re-emphasize because it is extremely crucial to understand, the problem here is that these people were never actually saved. They never had saving faith to begin with, even though they were able to wield supernatural powers to even cast out demons. We know that these people were not saved because you will notice that in verse 21, Jesus is speaking to the Scribes and Pharisees who are not saved and do not have the required faith in Christ. They were notoriously against Christ and often sought to trap him and destroy his credibility. He admonishes them that “only those who do the will of the Father shall enter Heaven.” What is the will of the Father? The answer is found in a statement that Jesus had already made to them earlier in John 6:40 …

“And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40).

As we can see, this is an issue of the unsaved performing miracles, signs and wonders. So, the measuring stick is what they believe and what they say that reveals their belief that determines whether signs and wonders are from a false prophet or not. It does not automatically follow that when signs and wonders are performed that they are from the true God, the God of the Bible. Is what they say and what they believe in harmony with God’s word or not? Furthermore, we need to understand that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Meaning, God does not take them back. When God imparts a gift or calling upon someone – in this case, that of a prophet – he doesn’t revoke or take away that gift just because that person is not walking in accordance with God’s will …

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29).

There are those who can and do use supernatural gifts to perform signs and wonders, but the power source may not necessarily be from God either, even though it may seem like it is. Again, it comes back to what that person believes. Unfortunately then, the gifts of God can be misappropriated even by saved and born again Christians. For example, consider Balaam, the son of Beor, and King Saul. In both cases, these men possessed a genuine gift from on High. Yet, in both cases, they possessed character flaws that neither could overcome, but those flaws overcame them. In the end, they misappropriated both their anointing and gift.

In the case of Saul, the Bible says that he was anointed of God to be king (1 Samuel 10:1). Furthermore, scripture tells us that the spirit of God would come upon him and he would prophesy, even to the point that men wondered if Saul was one of the prophets (1 Samuel 10:10-11). In spite of these auspicious beginnings, Saul apparently possessed, or grew to possess, a great deal of pride, and that is what eventually led to his downfall. In time, God removed his spirit and permitted an evil spirit to come upon Saul and trouble him (1 Samuel 16:14). Still, even when the evil spirit came upon Saul, the king continued to prophesy, even if the unction came from a different source (1 Samuel 18:10). The point is that the gifts and calling of God is without repentance, and so we must be spiritually discerning and scripturally sound if we are to detect the true prophet from the false one. Remember that the apostle Paul warned against being as children, “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting (Ephesians 4:14).

SIGNS FOLLOWING BELIEVERS OR BELIEVERS FOLLOWING SIGNS?

Returning back to Mark 16 for a moment for the purpose of clarification on another point seen in John 14 concerning the administration of word, signs and wonders …

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17-18).

Does God still perform miracles in this era? Absolutely, yes he does. When the message of eternal salvation that can only be obtained through the risen Christ first went forth, God was faithful to his promise and confirmed this message with signs and wonders that the disciples of Jesus were speaking the truth. Jesus told his disciples that they would do an even greater number of works than even he had done …

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).

Here, we can see that Jesus said that not only would His followers do the same works, but they would do “greater” works than He. Many mistakenly believe this passage of scripture to be saying that believers will perform works “greater in power” than what Jesus did. This is not the case. This is not a reference to the works being greater in power. Jesus had raised Lazarus, who had been four days in the tomb (John 11); humanly speaking, not even the apostles did a greater work than that. No one has ever exceeded the power or majesty of Jesus’ miracles.

So, what did Jesus mean that His faithful followers would do “greater” works than He? Without a doubt, the works of Jesus’ followers would be greater in extent. Jesus’ earthly ministry had been largely limited to Galilee and Judea; His disciples, however, were going to extend His ministry to the uttermost parts of the earth. When Jesus ascended to heaven, His followers numbered in the hundreds; forty days later, in response to the preaching of the apostles, that number leaped into the thousands (Acts 2:41). By the end of Acts, the gospel had made its way to Rome.

Jesus links the works of His followers with the fact of His return to heaven. In fact, He says His absence is the cause of their greater works: “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12), emphasis added). Jesus later told His disciples that the gift of the Holy Spirit depended on Jesus’ return to heaven (John 16:7). It was through the Spirit that the church is enabled to do the work of God.

Jesus also links the greater works His followers will do to the promise of answered prayer. His very next words …

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13-14).

The words of Jesus in John 14 were of great comfort to His eleven disciples. He was about to be arrested and suffer a cruel and unjust death. The disciples themselves would be scattered that night. But Jesus assures them that, no matter what happens, God’s work will continue in the world. Even after Jesus’ earthly ministry ended, His work would go on. The followers of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, would continue to help and heal people. The gospel message of eternal salvation only through Jesus Christ would have a worldwide impact. As God’s people pray in Jesus’ name, answers would come, and the greatest miracle of all—the spiritual transformation of a heart of stone into a heart of flesh open and receptive to that gospel message through faith in Christ—would become commonplace, to the glory of God.

So, yes, God does indeed heal and he confirms his word with supernatural manifestations because these things “will follow those who believe.” We must, however, define what Jesus meant when he said “These signs shall follow those who “believe.” In this sense, Jesus was speaking of those who “belong” to him – the ones who believe are the ones who have received him as savior and are now in the family of God – those who are now in the body of Christ. To expand upon this idea of what it means to believe and become a part of the family of God (the body of Christ), the below video is highly recommended by Dr. Charles Stanley.

We cannot always assume that signs and wonders are indicative of someone who believes, or who truly is a part of the body of Christ; we must first understand what a believer truly is. Remember, a prophet of God or, for that matter, anyone who considers themselves a believer, is going to speak and live in harmony with scripture. They will “hear” and “do” what the word has to say. But always remember, this is not to suggest that they are perfect, because as scripture tells us, there are no perfect people (Romans 3:10). Living perfect and without sin is also not what makes us a member of the body of Christ either. Even genuine born again, saved believers can fall into carnality or otherwise choose carnal living. It does not mean that they are not true, born again saved Christians still going to Heaven. Still, their primary objective should be to live according to the word simply because it is what pleases God and it is the right thing to do – not because they are seeking supernatural manifestations.

In sharp contrast to this standard, here in the West we have witnessed scores of well-intentioned, perhaps desperate people (and most of them believers) – running to and fro, following every “move of God,” seeking after signs and wonders. In other words, the movement is in the wrong direction – signs and wonders should follow believers, not the other way around. This phenomenon of false signs and wonders is especially pronounced in poorer and third world countries who practice other religions like those seen in the far East. In some cases, some have sold their belongings just so they can afford to journey and be prayed for by a particular person in the hope that they will receive an anointing to be healed of their disease. Is it wrong to desire spiritual gifts? According to the Apostle Paul, we should desire these things (1 Corinthians 14:1), but in order to propagate the word – the word of the gospel – of eternal salvation through Christ. Is it shallow to desire healing? Of course not, but remember that scripture tells us …

“He sent his word and healed them” (Psalm 107:20).

“He sent his word” meaning, in part, that if we were to live according to his word, we could live a healthy and prosperous life. For instance, if we ate only what he says is clean to eat and abstain from what he says is unclean. I firmly believe that some of our ailments would disappear or, at the very least, be lessened. Moreover, who is to say what actually happens to our physical bodies when we choose to walk contrary to his commands? Our physical well-being is very likely dependent on “hearing” and “doing” the word of God. Frankly, I am convinced that if people actually appropriated God’s word to their lives, much of the disease and sickness that plagues us would start dissipating – He sent his word and healed them!”

Unfortunately, this approach goes against the prevailing mindset in the believing world, and so, many well-intentioned people end up running from city to city seeking their healing and other signs and wonders. According to the Bible, this is not a recent development among the people of God. Jesus made it clear why many people in his day were following him and it wasn’t for all the right reasons. Look at what he had to say …

“When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way” (John 4:47-50).

This is an extremely important point. According to the words of Jesus, these people were following after the signs because the condition of their heart would not permit them to otherwise believe on him for eternal salvation. Consequently, this begs the question: were all the signs Jesus performed an indication of his approval of that generation or an indictment against them? When he performed certain signs, is it possible that his motive was to expose their hardened heart?

For instance, in Matthew 8, a leper, desiring to be healed, came to Jesus.

Indeed, Jesus responded to the individual’s faith but then instructed him to tell no one “but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them,” that is, the priests of the Temple (Matthew 8:4). In the very next chapter, we see that scribes are in the Galilee – probably sent from Jerusalem by the Temple leaders – to investigate this man’s ministry. While they watched, Jesus forgave a paralytic of his sins and immediately perceived their reaction and thoughts toward him. He said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” (Matthew 9:4). Then, to prove he had the power to forgive sins, he healed the paralytic man.

True, he had compassion on the man who needed healing, but he, in part, used the demonstration to reveal the true condition of those who were supposedly men of God. The point is, just because God performs a miraculous sign, do not assume that he is providing evidence of his approval of the direction people are taking – it may be the exact opposite.

In John 5, Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda and there, among the multitudes of sick, blind and lame, found a paralytic who hoped to be healed when the waters of the pool were stirred. According to the Gospel, the man was healed and, at first, didn’t even know who was responsible for his miracle.

In fact -and this is the point – of all of the scores of people waiting to be healed, how many of them recognized that the Word made flesh was in their midst? Including the man who was healed, no one recognized that the only one who had the power to make them whole was walking among them. So then – their motive for being at the pool is clear, but what does this say, potentially anyway, about their heart? Considering the uproar this incident caused among the Temple leaders – it occurred on the Sabbath – perhaps the more poignant question would be: what was Jesus’ motive? Was he, once again, performing a sign in order to expose the condition of the people’s heart? The very heart of unbelief that resides in the natural man that ensures his/her eternal destiny to condemnation?

Why is this so important to consider? If in Jesus day signs were given in order to reveal the waywardness of his people, then I believe it is possible, if not probable, that when legitimate signs are manifested today, the purpose may be the same – to expose the true condition of the people. Without a doubt, there are times when God compassionately and mercifully responds to the desperate needs of people …

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Yet, should we automatically assume that this is evidence of revival? Perhaps we should consider that it is evidence that we are in need of revival. I trust that you see there is a big difference between the two positions. However, one could certainly and accurately say that it is a foregone conclusion that the former opinion will prevail among many and the body of Christ will continue to run to and fro looking for a sign.

Finally, it needs to be pointed out again that this subject matter is very much an end-time topic. Just like political developments and natural occurrences have to be scrutinized in the light of scripture, so too does anything that gets labeled as “a move of God.” As noted earlier, the apostle John warned that we should be careful to observe these things before arriving at hasty conclusions …

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

One must remember that God’s spirit always works in concert with his word. So, even if someone is performing signs and miracles, even if someone is being aided by an angel, you should compare what they say to the scripture before you make a decision as to whether it is of God. The Apostle Paul admonished us that …

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

Does God heal? Yes, he does. Does God use his people to perform signs and wonders? Yes, he does. Will God respond to the faith and prayer of a desperate individual in spite of all? In my opinion, yes, he will. Is every sign that God sends an indication of his favor? Again, in my opinion, it is not. Does everything that is deemed miraculous indicate the handiwork of God? No, it does not. Thus, we see the necessity to accurately discern the signs of the times. Approximately two-thousand years ago, most people failed to recognize the very one they had been trained to look for and, primarily, because they were looking for the signs rather than the one who provides them. According to Jesus, a wicked and adulterous generation seeks signs, but in the end, will only get one – the sign of the prophet Jonah. Consider then, that Jonah was sent to that great city Ninevah to call them to repentance. Ironically, the one sent to call others to repent was in need of repentance himself. Once he determined to fulfill his God-ordained commission – after a fair amount of prodding – this Hebrew prophet went to the Gentiles to, in effect, provoke them to turn to the God of Israel in repentance of their wickedness. So then, signs and wonders aside, can you discern the true signs of the times?

AVOIDING THOSE FATEFUL WORDS OF MATTHEW 7: THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN AND YOU

It should be evident by now that God’s express purpose in providing signs and wonders is to point people to him and the way of eternal salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ. However, it should also be clear that many signs and wonders that occurred in the past and are occurring today do not point people to Christ for salvation, but point to an alternative path to God, which in the end, will result in damnation for the unfortunate souls who hearken to them and the message they bring.

In order to accept the offer of God’s grace and his salvation, you must take the crucial three steps of …

1. Agreeing – A belief and agreeing with God in all that he says in his word, the Bible, about the fact that you are separated from God, as every man and woman on the face of the earth are before accepting his salvation. The Bible reveals that all are separated from him in a spiritual state of death, or said another way that the Bible reveals it, in a state of sin, that will result in damnation in the afterlife. Agreeing with God in your heart that you are in need of his salvation. The Bible reveals that God looks upon the heart of a man or woman, and thus, responds accordingly to the person who comes to him for salvation in recognition of his inability to save himself. The Bible makes these facts very clear – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The Bible describes these three kinds of death:

physical death (the state experienced when life leaves our bodies).

spiritual death (spiritual separation from God caused by our state of spiritual death inherited from the first man Adam – the state of sin that results in our daily outward acts of sin, whether deliberate or not, whether omissive or not; and finally …

the second death (the fixed state entered into by the individual who dies physically while he or she is dead spiritually). This state is entered into after the death of the body which results in punishment in the afterlife until the event of the Great White Throne Judgment occurs wherein the damned are resurrected from Hades, or Hell, and are judged according to their works and finally destroyed and cease to exist after being cast into the Lake of Fire. Revelation 14 refers to this tragic end of the unsaved as the “Second Death” (verse 14). It is this state of suffering entered into after physical death and then final destruction at the Great White Throne Judgment in particular which is the horrible result of receiving the wages of sin (unforgiven due to unbelief and rejection of Christ). The Lord Jesus Christ frequently described such a death as being irrevocable in a destiny which he called Hell. He described Hell as a literal place of judgment (Matthew 13:42); a place of everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8); a place of torment (Luke 16:24,28); a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:50); a place of remorse (Mark 9:44-48); of bitter memory (Luke 16:25), and a place originally prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). In fact, Jesus more often warned about Hell than he spoke about Heaven.

It is not God’s will or desire that any person should be consigned to perish in Hell (2 Peter 3:9), but rather that all should come to repentance of unbelief toward him and believe on him for the salvation of the individual’s soul. But God’s justice requires that the “soul who sins” (remains in it’s state of death or state of sin) is the one who will die a second time after a long period of torment (Ezekiel 18:4). So, agree with God, admitting that you are unable to save yourself and in a state of sin under God’s just condemnation for that sin and that you are in need of his salvation.

2. Believing – Then, believe that God does not want you to perish eternally in the torment of Hell because of your sin. Believe that God loves you so much that he provided a way whereby he could still be a just, holy and righteous God, and yet pardon you. Believe that God did not just overlook sin, but that he sent his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to provide salvation by personally paying the penalty for sin. Believe that Jesus Christ, whose life, death, burial and resurrection is the best-attested fact of antiquity, did come to earth to live, die, rise again and ascend to Heaven in order to provide justification and salvation for all who trust him. Believe that he, and he alone, can save you because he has fully satisfied the just demands of God. Believe that you can’t become righteous in God’s sight by your own effort. Believe that he wants to save you and that he will save you. The Bible provides a solid basis for such belief …

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).

“But God demonstrates his love toward us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

God presented him (Jesus Christ) as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man or woman who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26).

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures … ” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“Jesus answered, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out [drive away]” (John 6:37).

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

3. Calling – It is not enough to agree with God, admit your need, and believe that Christ can and will save you. You must act upon those facts. God’s requirement is that you repent of your unbelief toward him and actively call upon him for the salvation of your soul based on the fact that you cannot save yourself. It is unbelief in particular that damns the soul to its horrible fate …

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).

You must be willing to completely turn from your own efforts to save yourself or from any other hope. You must come to Christ, calling upon him for salvation and counting on the fact that he will do what he has promised. This means simply taking the gift of pardon and eternal life which he offers. Merely believing about Jesus Christ without coming to him makes as much sense and is as effective as believing that a medication can successfully treat a fatal disease, but failing to take it. Yet again, the Bible emphatically and authoritatively provides the basis for such statements.

The word translated “believe” here means to “rest one’s entire weight and trust on the object or person in which the belief is placed.” It requires action in keeping with the intellectual assent of that belief.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

” … but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The logical question you may be asking at this point is: “how do I come to Christ and call upon him?” The answer is that “calling upon the Lord” is just another term for praying, or talking to God. To talk to God is not a complicated process, dependent upon some special rituals. God has invited people to approach him through his Son in simple, straightforward terms. In fact, Jesus approved of the dishonest, despised tax collector who simply prayed, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” While the exact words of your prayer to God are not of vital importance (since God sees and knows the attitude of your heart), the following is the kind of prayer that you could pray in calling upon God for salvation …

“Dear Lord Jesus: I realize that I need you. I admit that I have sinned and that I deserve your just, eternal punishment for that sin. But I am sorry for my sin and I am turning to you and asking for forgiveness. I believe that you died and rose again to pay sin’s penalty on my behalf. I come to you and open my heart to you. I ask you to come into my life, forgive me for all of my sin and make me your child. I invite you to take control of my life and to cause me to be the kind of person you would have me to be. I thank you for doing this because you have promised that whosoever calls upon you, as I am doing now, shall be saved. I pray this in the name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, I urge you to sincerely and genuinely express it to God as your prayer. The Bible makes clear that when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in our heart, God forgives our sins and counts us righteous, and that when we openly confess with our mouth what we have done in our heart, God gives us assurance of that salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:3-7).

Recommended Reading:

RAISING HELL WITH CERN AND SATURN

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